1. Technical Field
The invention relates to acoustic sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various acoustic systems, e.g., sniper detection systems, are known that incorporate the use of multiple acoustic sensors. The acoustic sensors typically are directional in nature and are oriented to acquire acoustic information about an area of interest. In operation, each of the acoustic sensors acquires information corresponding to an acoustic wave of interest and outputs a corresponding information signal for analysis. Exemplar acoustic signals are shock waves, muzzle blasts, mortar/missile launches, explosions, sirens, vehicle sounds and speech. By analyzing the signals from the various acoustic sensors, the direction of the source of the acoustic waves can be determined.
Such an acoustic system typically suffers from several inherent drawbacks. By way of example, such a system typically uses a large number of acoustic sensors to acquire the number of acoustic samples required for producing accurate estimations of the approach direction of an acoustic wave. Clearly, this can lead to increased cost and power requirements for such a system. Additionally, care must be taken to ensure that each of the acoustic sensors is placed in a proper location to form an acoustic sensor array; otherwise, analysis of acquired information can be flawed. As a further example, the acoustic responses of the acoustic sensors used in such a system typically are matched in order to reduce signal detection variations. As is known, response-matching of acoustic sensors can be tedious and expensive.